Award honour for Yorkshire Dales champion (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Award honour for Yorkshire Dales champion

9:00pm Tuesday 14th August 2012 in Yorkshire Dales news By Allan Tunningley

SETTLE mayor Joe Lord has been honoured for his valued contribution to the life, work and environment of the Yorkshire Dales.

The 24-year-old is the seventh winner of the Ken Willson Award, presented by the Yorkshire Dales Society and the Craven Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

The award is a ‘living memorial’ to Addingham man Ken Willson, who died in 2003. He spent most of his long and active life working and campaigning for the Yorkshire Dales.

“Ken was always passionate about helping and supporting young people,” said Colin Speakman, chairman of the Yorkshire Dales Society. “He would have been especially delighted to see Joe Lord win this award for the amazing work he does with young people to enable them to have a voice and be heard, and to take positive action to carry out their own projects.”

Mr Lord, who is a town councillor, is currently writing guidelines for local authorities, MPs and other organisations to follow when consulting and working with young people. He is also re-publishing an out-of-print book of Yorkshire dialect poetry by celebrated poet Tom Twistleton, with profits going to the Folly Museum in Settle.

Mr Lord said: “I am honoured and delighted to be this year’s Ken Willson Award recipient. I am going to use the £500 award to kickstart a fund for young people to spend on projects they want to see happen in Yorkshire.”